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Drenched Northern California gets more rain

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A new storm system made its way Tuesday through already drenched Northern California, prompting renewed flood concerns in parts of the region.

Rain had been falling along the coast and inland areas, but the heaviest rain was expected early Wednesday. Coastal mountains could see as much as six inches of precipitation before the storm moves out on Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.

Other areas may only see an inch or so.

Forecasters were not expecting weather as severe as the series of storms that rocked the region over a five-day period that ended Sunday.

"The winds will be much lighter than over the weekend. The rainfall amounts will also be lower," meteorologist Holly Osbourne said.

She called the latest storm a warm system, meaning snow levels will be relatively high at around 8,000 to 9,000 feet.

The National Weather Service issued a weather outlook for far Northern California, but despite saturated ground from the previous storms that dumped 15 to 20 inches of rain in some areas, forecasters said larger rivers in the region were expected to remain below flood stage.

The storm on Sunday dropped as much as an inch of rain an hour in some areas while toppling trees, causing flash flooding to roadways and knocking out power. Rivers across Northern California swelled from the deluge but mostly stayed within their banks.

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Associated Press writer Sudhin Thanawala in San Francisco contributed to this report.

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